The Smell of New Competitors: The Response of American Mink,Mustela vison, to the Odours of Otter,Lutra lutraand Polecat,M. putorius

Harrington, Lauren A.; Harrington, Andrew L.; Macdonald, David W.

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2008.01593.x

Cited by 19 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Harrington et al. () demonstrated that American mink are attracted to polecat odor. As ferrets are a sub‐species of polecats, and considering the results from our study, ferret kairomone may be an effective management tool for mink.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…American mink (Neovison vison) are listed as one of 37 invasive alien species by the European Union and member states are required to take measures to ensure early detection and rapid eradication of listed species. Harrington et al (2009) demonstrated that American mink are attracted to polecat odor. As ferrets are a sub-species of polecats, and considering the results from our study, ferret kairomone may be an effective management tool for mink.…”

Section: Management Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploiting interspecific olfactory communication to monitor predators

Garvey

Glen

Clout

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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Olfaction is the primary sense of many mammals and subordinate predators use this sense to detect dominant species, thereby reducing the risk of an encounter and facilitating coexistence. Chemical signals can act as repellents or attractants and may therefore have applications for wildlife management. We devised a field experiment to investigate whether dominant predator (ferret Mustela furo) body odor would alter the behavior of three common mesopredators: stoats (Mustela erminea), hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus), and ship rats (Rattus rattus). We predicted that apex predator odor would lead to increased detections, and our results support this hypothesis as predator kairomones (interspecific olfactory messages that benefit the receiver) provoked "eavesdropping" behavior by mesopredators. Stoats exhibited the most pronounced responses, with kairomones significantly increasing the number of observations and the time spent at a site, so that their occupancy estimates changed from rare to widespread. Behavioral responses to predator odors can therefore be exploited for conservation and this avenue of research has not yet been extensively explored. A long-life lure derived from apex predator kairomones could have practical value, especially when there are plentiful resources that reduce the efficiency of food-based lures. Our results have application for pest management in New Zealand and the technique of using kairomones to monitor predators could have applications for conservation efforts worldwide.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Management Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploiting interspecific olfactory communication to monitor predators

Garvey

Glen

Clout

et al. 2017

Ecological Applications

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show abstract

“…In our study, and similar to Harrington et al . (), we have found that when coexisting with otters, mink tended to be more diurnal in spite of their diet being rather similar (Magdalena Fjord) to that of the otter (Fig. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surveys for mink signs have been shown to be a sufficiently reliable method to detect the presence/absence of mink even when otters are present (Bonesi & Macdonald, 2004 b ; Harrington, Harrington & Macdonald, ). Moreover, an experimental study of the reaction of mink to Eurasian otters' odour has shown that mink do not avoid otter markings (Harrington et al ., ). Given these studies, we conclude that mink signs are an adequate indication of mink presence or absence.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Coexistence between the southern river otter and the alien invasive North American mink in marine habitats of southern Chile

et al. 2013

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The interaction between native and introduced predators can be an important determinant of the success of introduced species and of the magnitude of their effects. In Europe, it has been shown that the American mink Neovison vison can be affected by native competitors; however, such evidence has not been found in South America. We studied the southern river otter Lontra provocax and the American mink at five marine sites, where they coexisted, and at one freshwater site, where only mink were present, in southern Chile. We used the signs of both species to study their habitat use and diet, and radio tracking to study their activity patterns. The results indicated that otters and minks tended to use different habitats in marine environments, the otter favouring littoral areas that are rocky and steep while the mink favours areas of gravel with a gently sloping intertidal zone. These differences were also reflected in their diets. At one of the coastal sites where the diet of the two species was similar, the activity pattern of minks was mostly diurnal, which is unusual. While differential habitat use may be the way through which the American mink is able to coexist with the southern river otter in coastal habitats of southern Chile, it is possible that otters are having an effect on individual minks by affecting their activity patterns, although more observations are needed to confirm this hypothesis.

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“…The variation in diet composition and territory use compared between American mink and Eurasian otter was widely discussed in many studies across the Europe (e.g., Clode and Macdonald 1995, Sidorovich 2000, Jędrzejewska et al 2001, Melero et al 2008, Harrington et al 2009). Nevertheless, there is still not enough information about changes in the diet of these predators under different winter conditions affecting the availability of prey.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%